FAQs

The public realm begins the moment you leave your front door. It includes the streets we walk or cycle in, the town squares we socialise in, and parks, playgrounds and sport fields where we relax or play. It is not just for people, but also our native plants and animals, as it provides links to habitats and strengthens biodiversity.

A Public Realm Strategy for the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area is required for the following reasons:

• Council's current Open Space Strategy (2010) has reached the end of its strategy life and needs updating to align with best practice open space planning.
• Council's current Open Space Strategy (2010) does not consider all public land (such as our streets, which can contribute up to 80% of public open space).
• Best practice open space planning includes all public spaces (not just parks and sports grounds) and takes into consideration how such spaces connect to each other and those who use them.

The Public Realm strategy is a long term strategy that will have a 'life' of 10 years. It sets the vision for the city and defines long term actions for the LGA that are proposed to be achieved over the next 10 years.

The strategy aims to create a connected network of public open space (including our streets) throughout all of Coffs Harbour to provide better access and connections to our amazing outdoor environments and strengthen our ties to nature. All within a 5-minute walk from our home.

This means that if all of our open space is connected into a network, when you walk outside your front door, you will come across a piece of public open space that will connect you to other areas of open space.  For example please see our Nugget Close Case Study example here within our Documents section.

To help guide the strategy, Council has developed the following set of principles to align with best practice open space planning and incorporate what our community has told us during previous community consultation undertaken as part of developing Council's Community Strategic Plan and through the Place Score project. The principles have also been developed to reflect the strategic direction for our community as identified in Council's Local Strategic Planning Statement.

More information about best practice guidelines and documents that have influenced the principles can be found in the 'Documents' section of this page.

The Government Architect NSW has developed the Greener Places Framework to inform current best practice open space planning. It aims to create a healthier, more liveable, and sustainable urban environment by improving community access to recreation and exercise, supporting walking and cycling connections, and improving the resilience of our urban areas.

The guidelines developed under this framework put forward new ideas for open space planning, such as the provision of 'Green Infrastructure' which looks at providing infrastructure that caters for a number of purposes and benefits the community in a number of ways.

For example when we are designing new infrastructure such as a stormwater channel, other uses for this infrastructure are considered at the same time (i.e. a cycleway or walking track that provides a connection to other open space and/or residential areas). This new framework looks at the provision of infrastructure as a whole system, thereby maximising benefits to the community (i.e. providing a stormwater channel, cycleway and tree planting as one integrated package).

An example of this green Infrastructure approach can be seen here in Clear Paddock Creek, Fairfield.

The  Green Grid Framework

As part of the Greener Places Framework, the Government Architect NSW has also developed the Sydney Green Grid. This grid identifies a network of high-quality green space that connects town centres, public transport hubs, and major residential areas. Whilst this is based in Sydney, the grid mapping process can identify 'gaps' between areas (i.e. a shared path connecting West Coffs to the City Centre).

The City of Coffs Harbour has used this to develop its own ‘Green Grid’ for Coffs Harbour. The Green Grid is a map of our network of public open space that connects our residential areas, business centres, urban areas and destinations. By mapping our Green Grid, the City is able to align projects, works and future development so that our high quality green spaces are protected for future generations and to ensure that our whole community has access to suitable open space.

When it is finalised a map of the Green Grid Framework will be available for the community to view on our online mapping tool.

More information in relation to the Sydney Green Grid can be found here.